BOWLING TOURNEY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 71, 25 March 1937, Page 12

BOWLING TOURNEY

PLAYER'S COMPLAINT

' The entries for the Wellington Easter bowling tournament (44 rinks) is better than that received last year, but, at the same time, the Wellington Bowling Centre can hardly be congratulated on the response received, a bowler writes. Not one single entry has been received from clubs outside the centre's own territory, while north, south, east, and west we heard of record entries from the tournament committees of other centres. Auckland has an entry of 158 rinks, Marlborough had to shut down on further entries weeks ago, Wanganui has an entry of sixty rinks, and Manawatu will have difficulty in finding green accommodation for its competing teams.

The reason is not far to seek. The Wellington Centre runs its Easter tournament as a money-making contest. Its charge of 10s per player (as against the 7s 6d asked elsewhere) would, not matter so much' if the Wellington Centre used the additional 2s 6d to give the players an extra good time, but, so far as entertainment is concerned, the centre offers absolutely nothing to fill in idle time. This is hard to understand, for a Sunday picnic at any one of the dozen suitable spots available would not cost a great deal; nor, as an alternative, should a trip round the marine drive be beyond the scope of the centre's organising powers. The chief charm of a holiday tournament is in meeting players from other towns. Bowls is, par excellence, the social game, and, while local players doubtless enjoy playing against players they have played against, off ' and on, throughout the season,, to meet new blood on. the greens would add to the pleasure. But outsiders are not likely to come when they have to pay more to enter, have no special progrE^mme of entertainment to enjoy as is provided by other centres, and, should they win through to the final, receive a trophy worth a guinea to take back to the better half.

Up to this point we have been critical, but no more so than, the average bowler of the city v Let us look at the problem from another angle. Suppose the centre ran a tournament of the true holiday sort—plenty of good play on the greens and pleasant social events off the greens with trophies worth while for the winners .and runners-up. If they set about the problem in the right way, the centre could attract a hundred rink entries which at 30s a rink (as against the present £2) gives a revenue of £.150. Allow £50 for trophies, expenses of tournament, and special entertainment suggested, and the net result would be much in advance of all tliat can be expected from 44 entries at £2 each. Without question, in the matter of holiday tournament management, Wellington lags behirid other centres, and the clubs, whose representative the centi£ is, might very well give this subject some attention when selecting delegates for next year's centre committee.